/   1/ 


S.  R.  S.  Doc.  38. 


U.  S.  DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 


/ 

STATES  RELATIONS  SERVICE. 


A.  C.  TRUE,  Director. 


FARM  RECORDS  AND  ACCOUNTS. 

SUGGESTIONS  FOR  TEACHING  THE  SUBJECT  IN  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS.* 

INTRODUCTION. 

A  good  beginning  in  the  application  of  better  business  methods  to 
farming  is  the  keeping  of  farm  records  and  accounts.  Such  records 
are  not  only  valuable  in  showing  just  what  is  being  done,  but  are  also 
essential  as  a  basis  for  improved  methods  of  management.  Practice 
in  accounting  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  classroom  and  the 
farm  has  a  high  value  as  training  in  accuracy.  One  of  the  chief  aims 
in  teaching  farm  accounting  should  be  to  develop  an  appreciation  of 
its  value  and  to  develop  accuracy  and  neatness. 

RELATION  OF  SUBJECT  TO  COURSE  OF  STUDY. 

A  phase  of  farm  management. — Farm  management  may  be  defined 
as  the  business  side  of  farming.  As  accounts  of  financial  transactions 
and  records  of  farm  operations  are  intimately  connected  with  the 
business  administration  of  the  farm,  the  giving  of  general  instruction 
in  farm  records  and  accounts  is  commonly  made  either  an  integral 
part  of  the  course  in  farm  management  or  a  separate  course  correlated 
closely  with  it.  Such  a  general  course  should  follow  courses  in 
agricultural  production. 

As  a  part  of  other  courses. — The  keeping  of  special  records  and 
accounts  is  so  important  in  connection  with  efficient  production  of 
both  animal  and  plant  products  that  the  subject  should  be  considered 
in  connection  with  special  courses  in  animal  husbandry,  crop  produc- 
tion, and  horticulture.  A  course  in  dairying  would  be  incomplete  if 
dairy  records  were  not  considered.  Likewise,  a  course  in  poultry 
husbandry  should  involve  the  special  records  and  accounts  essential 
to  success  in  that  fine.  Field  crops,  the  orchard,  and  vegetable  gar- 
dening are  often  considered  with  little  reference  to  farm  bookkeeping. 
If  these  subjects  are  to  be  worked  out  as  practical  projects,  records 
and  accounts  must  be  considered. 

Correlation  with  hookkeeping . — Wherever  general  bookkeeping  is 
taught  as  a  separate  course  there  should  be  close  correlation  between 
that  subject  and  farm  accounts.     If  students  have  had  the  general 

i  Prepared  by  H.  P.  Barrows,  Specialist  in  Agricultural  Education,  under  the  direction  of  C.  H.  Lane, 
Chief  Specialist  in  Agricultural  Education,  States  Relations  Service, 
r— 17 1 


principles  of  bookkeeping,  with  practice  it  should  be  a  relatively 
simple  matter  for  them  to  make  the  application  to  farm  accounts. 
If  bookkeeping  is  taught  in  rural  high  schools,  after  the  general  prin- 
ciples are  mastered  the  teacher  should  allow  students  who  are  taking 
courses  in  agriculture,  or  who  intend  to  become  farmers,  to  make 
application  of  what  they  have  learned  to  farm  accounting,  providing 
that  subject  is  not  considered  in  agriculture.  The  teachers  of  agri- 
culture and  bookkeeping  should  plan  this  phase  of  their  work  together, 
that  there  may  be  cooperation  without  duplication  of  work. 

CLASSROOM  INSTRUCTION. 

Use  of  text. — In  a  course  or  a  part  of  a  course  given  over  to  farm 
records  and  accounts  it  will  be  most  satisfactory  to  use  one  of  the 
special  texts  upon  the  subject.  Provision  should  be  made  for  prac- 
tice. In  fact,  the  greater  part  of  the  work  should  be  practice  in  the 
presence  of  the  teacher,  with  the  text  used  as  a  manual  or  guide. 
One  lesson  period  out  of  three  may  be  employed  profitably  in  a  dis- 
cussion of  principles  and  in  a  consideration  of  problems  arising  in 
working  out  the  practice  suggested  in  the  text.  As  in  any  course  in 
accounting,  opportunity  will  be  found- for  individual  aid,  for  some 
students  will  make  greater  progress  than  others. 

Use  of  bulletins. — In  taking  up  the  subject  in  connection  with  some 
special  phase  of  agricultural  production  time  will  not  be  available  to 
go  into  the  general  principles  or  practice  in  the  extensive  manner 
which  the  use  of  a  text  would  involve.  Nevertheless,  it  is  essential 
that  the  students  have  a  knowledge  of  the  elemental  principles  of 
accounting  in  order  to  apply  them  to  any  special  phase  of  farming. 
The  following  Farmers'  Bulletins  will  be  of  service  in  such  cases: 
No.  511,  Farm  Bookkeeping,  and  No.  572,  A  System  of  Farm  Cost 
Accounting.  Each  student  should  secure  copies  of  these  bulletins, 
and  one  or  two  weeks,  according  to  the  time  available,  should  be 
given  to  their  consideration  in  the  classroom. 

PRACTICUMS  AND  PROJECTS. 

A  farm  inventory.1 — As  the  inventory  is  the  most  important  farm 
record  and  forms  the  basis  for  general  farm  accounts,  students 
should  have  practice  early  in  the  course  in  making  an  inventory  of 
the  home  farm.  Each  student  should  be  required  to  take  such 
an  inventory  (if  the  student  does  not  live  on  a  farm  he  may  be  able 
to  arrange  to  make  an  inventory  of  a  neighboring  farm),  using  the 
sample  on  pages  9  and  10  of  Farmers'  Bulletin  No.  511  as  a  guide. 
This  exercise  may  be  considered  a  home  practicum  to  accompany 
whatever  practice  may  be  given  at  the  school. 

Complete  farm  records  and  accounts. — To  a  student  in  farm  manage- 
ment who  lives  at  home  on  a  fairly  large  farm  may  be  assigned  the 

i  See  An  Analysis  of  the  Farm  Business,  Agricultural  Education  Monthly,  Vol.  II,  No.  3,  March,  1916. 


task  of  keeping  a  complete  set  of  records  and  accounts  for  the  home 
farm  for  one  year  as  a  project.  These  records  should  be  made  the 
basis  for  an  analysis  of  the  farm  business  and  remedies  should  be 
suggested  for  faulty  management.  If  it  is  impossible  to  secure  any 
remuneration  for  the  student  for  this  work,  it  should  involve  sufficient 
school  credit  to  make  it  attractive.  In  cases  where  large  dairy 
herds  or  poultry  plants  are  kept  on  a  farm,  records  and  accounts  of 
the  one  phase  of  farming  will  involve  sufficient  work  and  study 
to  become  separate  projects. 

Home-project  accounts. — The  home-project  method  of  teaching 
agriculture  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  for  training  in  business 
methods.  As  each  project  is  to  be  placed  upon  a  business  basis,  it 
will  involve  the  keeping  of  accurate  records  and  accounts.  Such 
records  and  accounts  are  kept  for  two  purposes:  First,  that  the 
student  may  know  definitely  how  he  is  coming  out  on  his  project; 
second,  that  the  teacher  and  other  supervisors  may  have  accurate 
information  with  regard  to  the  work  done.  In  most  cases  the  latter 
information  may  be  obtained  from  records  which  are  essential  for 
the  student's  own  needs.  All  records  which  are  not  essential  to  the 
success  of  the  project  and  which  are  unduly  irksome  for  the  student 
should  be  avoided.  This  question  will  form  a  fairly  good  test  of  the 
accounts  and  the  supervision  of  the  work:  Will  the  student  consider 
the  records  so  essential  to  his  success  that  he  would  be  willing  to 
continue  them  from  his  own  choice  ? 

The  teacher  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  educational  value  of  the 
accounting  phase  of  the  project.  In  this  work  there  is  opportunity 
to  develop  judgment,  accuracy,  fairness,  neatness,  and  good  form. 
In  order  to  facilitate  this  work  simple  forms  should  be  furnished  the 
student  for  all  phases  of  each  project.  The  following  forms,  which 
represent  summaries  and  financial  statements  of  representative 
projects,  should  be  suggestive  of  forms  adapted  to  other  projects. 
These  general  summaries  should  also  suggest  the  special  accounts 
which  the  student  must  keep.  For  example,  in  connection  with  all 
projects  separate  accounts  should  be  kept  for  both  labor  and  cash; 
in  connection  with  a  poultry  project  egg  records  and  incubator 
records  should  be  kept;  a  project  in  dairying  may  involve  records  of 
daily  milk  production  and  feed  used;  and  horticultural  and  crop 
projects  may  need  separate  records  showing  application  of  spraying 
and  fertilizing  material. 

RECORD  BLANK  FOR  POTATO  PROJECT. 

SOIL   PREPARATION. 

Character  of  soil. ' Crop  for  five  years  past 

Date  of  plowing Dates  of  harrowing 

Implements  used Implements  used 

Depth  plowed Cost  of  harrowing 

Cost  of  plowing Condition  of  land  when  planted 


CROP   PLANTING  AND    CULTIVATION. 

Variety  of  potatoes  planted Kind  of  fertilizer 

Kind  of  seed Amount  of  fertilizer  per  acre. 

Cost  of  seed  and  planting Cost  of  fertilizer 

Depth  of  planting Dates  of  cultivation 

Distance  of  planting Implements  used 

Percentage  of  stand Cost  of  cultivation 


HARVEST  AND    YIELD. 

Date  of  digging Yield  in  marketable  potatoes 

Method  of  digging How  disposed  of 

Days  from  planting  to  digging Cost  of  harvest  and  marketing 

Total  yield 

Remarks 

Approved : 

Teacher. 

Student        Age 

Post  office School 

County . 


Estimate  the  rental  of  your  land  and  your  time  at  a  fair  valuation. 
Count  all  commercial  fertilizers  at  actual  cost  and  barnyard  manure 
at  what  it  would  bring  in  the  district. 

EXPENSES. 

Rent  of  land $ 

Preparation  of  seed  bed: 

Horse  labor 

Student's  labor 

Cost  of  seed 

Cost  of  planting: 

Horse  labor 

Student's  labor 

Cost  of  fertilizer 

Cost  of  cultivation: 

Horse  labor 

Student's  labor 

Cost  of  digging: 

Horse  labor 

Student's  labor 

Cost  of  sacking,  storing,  and  marketing 


Total  cost. 


RECEIPTS. 


Total  value  of  marketable  potatoes, bushels,  at. 

Value  of  cull  potatoes, bushels,  at 

Value  of  potatoes  kept  for  seed, bushels,  at 


Total  receipts. 
Net  profit. . . . . 


The  following  forms  are  used  by  the  Division  of  Agriculture  and 
Industrial  Education  of  the  State  Department  of  Education  in  New 
York: 

SUMMARY  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  A  POULTRY  PROJECT. 

From 10...  to 19... 

Pupil School 

Address Number  of  birds 

Variety 


Feed  consumed. 

Cost  of  feed.                 Eggs  sold.      Fowls  sold. 

Labor. 

Month. 

V. 

1  = 

IS 

* 

91 

1 

< 

(I  rain. 
Masli 

All  else. 

Total. 

Number 
dozen. 

1 

re 

> 

Number. 
Value. 

Self. 
Man. 
Horse. 

S    c.     S 

c. 

? 

c. 

$ 

<■ 

$ 

c. 

$    c. 

Feb 

' 

Mar 

Apr 



May.... 



:::::::::::::' 

Julv. . . . 

::::::.:: 





Sept 

oS!:::::: 



... 



Noy 

Dec 

_ .    

Total. . 

i 

RATIONS. 


Date. 

3 
§ 

3 

Pounds  mixed 

grain. 

Pounds  com 
meal. 

P    ()    U    11    (1    s 

wheat  bran. 

Pounds 
wheat  mid- 
dlings. 

fi    M 

Pi 

-3  2 
B  S 
3  "° 

0 

1 
i~ 

e  a 

3 
O 

Pounds  green 
feed. 

Pounds  shell. 

Pounds  grit. 
Pounds  litter. 

' 





SUMMARY 


Item. 

Charges. 

Credits. 

Inyentorr 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Labor — self,  man,  and  horse 

Feed , 

Litter 

Fowls,  dead 

Disinfectants 

Interest,  depreciation,  etc 

Crates,  boxes 

Eggs  (hatching) 

Chicks 

Cockerels 

Eggs  (market^ 

Fowls  (market  | 

Net  profit 

Total 

Net  profit  per  bird 

! 

80489°— i: 


Pupil . . . 
Address 


SUMMARY  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  A  GARDEN  PROJECT. 

From ,  19..,  to ,19... 

School 


Area  of  garden 


Item. 

Quantity. 

Price. 

Charges. 

Inventory 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Seed 

Chemicals— treating 

Chemicals — spraying 

Manure 

Fertilizers 

Lime 

Use  of  land 

Use  of  buildings 

Use  of  machinery 

Labor— self 

Labor— man 

Interest  until  money  is  returned 

Net  profit 

Total 

1 

Products  marketed. 

Quantity. 

Price. 

Credits. 

Cash.                       Home  use. 

. 

1              1 
Dollars.     1   Cents.       Dollars. 

Cents. 



i 

' 



L: 





Total 

1. 

1 

SUMMARY  OF  LABOR  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  A  PROJECT. 

(Crop.) 

From 19..,  to ,19... 


Pupil... 
Address. 


School 

Area  of  crop acres. 

Variety 


SUMMARY  OF  LABOR. 


Operation. 

Hours  of  labor. 

Operation. 

Hours  of  labor. 

Self. 

Man. 

Horse. 

Self. 

Man. 

Horse. 

Brought  for- 

Harrowing 

Raking 

Rolling 



Tedding 

Seed  preparation 

Cocking 

Seed  treatment 

Cutting 

Marking 

Setting 

Seeding— planting. . . 

Shocking 

Weeding 

Husking 

Thinning 

Pulling 

Spraving 

Digging 

:::::::::: 

Cultivating 

Picking 

Grading 

Cleaning  for  market 
Marketing 





i 

Total 

SUMMARY  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT. 


Item. 

Quantity. 

Price. 

Charges. 

Credits. 

Inventory 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars,     i   Cents. 

Seed 

Chemicals; — treating                               ..... 

Chemicals — spraying ! 

Manure 

Fertilizers 

Lime 



Rent 

:::::.:::::::::::::::::::::: 

Labor — self. . .                                           

Labor — man 

:::::::::::::::::::: 

Labor— horse 



Interest 



Use  of  equipment 

Use  of  buildings ' 

:::;■::: 

Total 

1 

1                  ! 

SUMMARY  OF  LABOR  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  A PROJECT, 

(Fruit.) 


From ,  19— to 


,  19- 


Pupil... 

Address. 


School 

Area  of  project acres. 

Variety plants. 

SUMMARY  OF  LABOR. 


Operation. 

Hours  of  labor. 

Operation. 

Hours  of  labor. 

Self. 

Man. 

Horse. 

Self. 

Man. 

Horse. 

Clearing  land 

Brought  forward. 

Pruning 

Renovation 

Plowing 



Harrowing 

Rolling 



Cutting  out  blight.. 



Draining 

Cutting  out  canker. 
Grafting 



Marking 

.; 

Treating  stock 



Renewine 

Pruning  stock 

Trellisine 

Planting 

Rodent  protection. . 
Mulching 

Winter  protection. 

Cultivating 



Hoeing 

Sowing  cover  crop  . . 

Picking 

Sowing     intertilled 



; 

Grading 

Packing 

Hauling 

Marketing 



Care    of  intertilled 
crop 

. 

Turning  crop  under. 

..   . 

Spraying,  first 

Spraying,  second 

Spraying,  third 

Spraying,  fourth 

Spraving,  fifth 

Thinning 

Total 



SUMMARY*  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT. 


Item. 

Quantity. 

Price. 

Charges. 

Credits. 

Inventory 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Seedlings : 

Plants i 

Seed 

Insecticides 

Manure 



Lime 













Rent 

:::::::; 



:::.:.:::::: 

Interest 





Total . .  . 





SUMMARY  AND  FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  OF  A  PROJECT. 

(Animal) 


From ,  19- 


Pupil... 
Address. 


to 


,19—.    Cr. 


School 

Number  of  animals. 
Breed 


Date. 

Pounds  grain  fed. 

i 

Pounds  roughage  , 
fed. 

Cost  of  feed. 

Grain. 

Roughage. 

Total. 

Jan 

Dollar?. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Feb 

< 

Mar 

Apr 



May 

June 

July 



i 

Sept 

Oct 

Dec 

■ 

:::::::::::::;;::::::::::::::::::::::: 

Total. 

i 

1 

Date. 

Products  sold. 

Quantity. 

Price. 

Total. 

Jan 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Feb 

Mar 

May 

June 

July 

Aug 



Sept 

Oct 

Dec 





Total.... 



Summary. 

Charges. 

1 

Credits. 

Labor — self 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Dollars. 

Cents. 

Labor — man 

Labor — horse 

Feed 

Bedding 

Pasture 

Interest 

Total 

The  following  form  for  an  individual  cow  record  is  used  by  the 
Agricultural  Education  Service  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Board  of 
Education,  furnished  to  that  board  by  the  Massachusetts  Agricul- 
tural Extension  Service : 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  FLORIDA 


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